


Hemlock Asylum

by orphan_account



Category: Hemlock Grove
Genre: Alternate Universe - Asylum, Gen, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2014-03-31
Packaged: 2018-01-17 17:12:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1395976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asylum AU in which Roman believes his diabetes to be vampirism and his new roommate Peter suffers from clinical lycanthropy. They get on brilliantly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hemlock Asylum

“Hey, blood freak. Your new roommate’s here.”

Roman didn’t move, but did shift his gaze from the ceiling to the door. He could see the orderly that had spoken through the barred window, the one he had nicknamed “Teeth” in his head, because of the man’s horribly crooked teeth. He was pretty sure the man’s actual name was something like Russell, and that was why he was always so tetchy.

Teeth wasn’t alone, and there was another head outside the door that Teeth was currently unlocking. Roman feigned disinterest, but he was curious to know what unlucky bastard had been sent to share a cell with him now.

The guy that Teeth led in hardly seemed anything special. His brown hair was stringy and nearly to his shoulders, and he could have used a good shave. Besides looking homeless, he looked decidedly normal—and most importantly, _boring_ —so Roman gave him two weeks. At most.

Then the guy turned so Teeth could take off his arm restraints, and the look in his eyes was anything but normal. It was wild. It was feral.

Hmm. Interesting.

“Why don’t you tell Rumancek here what you’re in for?” Teeth said.

“That his name then?” Roman asked in as lazy a tone he could muster. “Rumancek?”

“Peter,” the guy said, his voice gruff. “My name is Peter.”

Roman gave him a considering look, up, down, then up again. Peter’s restraints had been taken away, and now he stood there silent and unmoving while Teeth watched from the door. Despite the blank expression, Peter’s feral eyes seemed to shine. They seemed to be... _laughing_.

Hmm. Interesting.

“Alright. Yeah, whatever,” Roman said, lifting his eyes to the ceiling to feign disinterest again. “They put me in here because I’m a vampire.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Got a problem with that?”

“Not as long as you don’t bite me.”

“Bit the last one, you know,” Roman said.

Peter laughed a little, a deep, throaty chuckle, and Roman couldn’t help looking at him then.

“You won’t bite me,” Peter said.

“Why’s that?”

Peter smiled, his lips stretching wide across his face, and Roman noticed how remarkably white his teeth were. The whole expression was pretty fucking weird and sent an involuntary shiver down Roman’s spine.

“Because I’m a werewolf.”

Well. Roman hadn’t been expecting that, but looking at Peter again, he was hardly surprised. He snorted and returned his gaze to the ceiling. “Good for you.”

Teeth laughed in the doorway, the sound of jangling keys signalling his exit. “Play nice, freaks,” he sang and slammed the door shut.

The following silence was unnerving, because Peter still hadn’t moved. Roman fought the urge to frown. This wasn’t how things worked. He was the one who made silences unbearable, not the other guy.

“Sit down, for fuck’s sake, you fuckin’ weirdo,” Roman snapped. “Or do you miss your doggie bed?”

Peter chuckled again, and in the corner of Roman’s eye, he saw Peter sit on the edge of the bed across the room.

“What do they call you?” Peter asked.

 _Blood freak._ “Roman.”

“No, I meant what do they think you have?”

Roman cast a glance sideways, narrowing his eyes. “Diabetes and bipolar disorder. You?”

“Schizophrenia.”

“Haha, no shit?”

“Clinical lycanthropy. Fucking idiots.”

“Guess we’ll see on the full moon,” Roman taunted.

“Guess we’ll see when the sun comes up.”

“Nah, sunlight doesn’t burn me. Just hurts my eyes like a bitch.”

“Course it does.”

Roman didn’t reply to that. He didn’t have to explain shit to this Peter freak.

So he changed the subject. “How’d they get you?” he asked.

Peter shuffled back until he was leaning against the wall, his feet hanging over the side of the bed. “Caught me in the woods next to this dead girl.”

Roman made a noise of acknowledgement. He had to admit that was impressive. Maybe Peter would last more than two weeks after all.

“You kill her?” Roman asked.

“Nah, wasn’t me. They would’ve put me somewhere much less comfortable if they had evidence I killed her. I wouldn’t have to share a room, that’s for sure.”

“They still think you did it, though.”

“I was sniffing her to see if I could get the killer’s scent when they found me. Apparently I’m a suspected necrophiliac as well as insane. And an obvious danger to society.”

Roman glanced at Peter again, not able to help how his lips curled up slightly at the boy’s sarcastic tone. He liked this Peter freak.

“So how’d they get you?” Peter asked, crossing his ankles and leaning back even more.

“I fed from a girl at school. I followed her into the bathroom and the bitch started screaming when I bit her.”

Peter clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Not very smart, are you?”

“Shut up. I was just...so fucking thirsty. I’m not dumb, I put my hand to her mouth, but then she had to go and knee me in the balls.”

“Ow.”

“No shit.”

“And that’s enough to get you in here?”

“You know how those fuckin’ girls are,” Roman said bitterly. “They turn on the tears and the whining for the police, call a guy a fuckin’ psychopath, and people believe ‘em. They threw me in here just to be safe.”

“Probably didn’t help that you went around saying you’re a vampire.”

“You’re one to talk. Look who came in and announced he was a werewolf.”

“I _am_ a werewolf.”

“And I’m a vampire. So shut the fuck up.”

The sudden rustle of bedsheets made Roman look over again, and as soon as he did, he caught a flash of Peter just as he was lunging across the room, pouncing onto Roman’s bed. Roman jerked toward the wall, but Peter pinned him with his hands, long fingers digging into his shoulders like claws.

Roman was about to ask what the fuck Peter thought he was doing when Peter suddenly leaned in and pressed his nose to the side of Roman’s throat, inhaling loudly. Roman shuddered as hot breath ghosted over his skin, but he couldn’t push away, not when he hadn’t fed in ages and was so weak. He could only lay there and let Peter fucking _smell_ him.

At least it only went on for a few seconds. After that, Peter backed away, his face hovering inches above Roman’s and his grin wide enough to send shivers down Roman’s spine again.

“You’ll do,” Peter said.

Roman gave Peter as hard a shove as he could, which wasn’t particularly hard in his weakened state.

“Yeah, whatever. Wolf freak.”

Roman turned on his side, facing the wall, and he heard Peter chuckle as he sat back down on his own bed.

 _What a fucking weirdo_ , Roman thought. But then he smiled. _I like him._

**Author's Note:**

> \- Pete Hautman's [essay on the link between diabetes and vampirism](http://www.petehautman.com/sweetblood-essay.html).  
> \- Wikipedia for [clinical lycanthropy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_lycanthropy).


End file.
